Nick Johnson back in pinstripes, pending physical*official*

[HCYanks]

1 year, 5.5 million according to Ken Davidoff

Okay, so he won't be hitting for power. But he was 3rd in OBP last season, only behind Mauer and Pujols. He's going to be scoring runs left and right in this offense. Plus I do suspect his limited HR hitting ability will at least get an extra push from NYS. If Nick can stay reasonably healthy, this will be one of the best bargains of the offseason.

This doesn't necessarily mean Damon won't be coming back, but it makes it a lot easier to tell him to get lost. 3/36 is a joke demand from a guy who's propped up by a hitter's park and could fall apart at any time.

[Pharmcat]

FAIL on yanks part
this move cannot be justified given the reasons to let matsui go

[Lconte17]

FAIL on yanks part
this move cannot be justified given the reasons to let matsui go

ditto! wtf would u sign a DH for 5.5m yet not offer Matsui at least the same contract?

[swisscheeseD]

I think the Yanks just caught with their pants down with Matsui signing early with the Angels. I think this is an underrated signing here by Cash. With Damon's demands, I think this move signifies the end of his tenure here with the Yanks. We've improved defensively with Granderson, and found a fit for the 2-hole in Johnson...all for less than what Damon is asking.

Johnson will be given the "Matsui-treatment", not allowing himself to risk injury by playing in the field. He's a professional hitter as well, so in NL parks and on days where the DH is used to give days off...he should have no problem hitting off the bench.

Excellent job Cash, now let's get some pitching depth and defend this crown!

[Wade2k6]

Yeah Cashman might have screwed up and not given Matsui a 6.5 million dollar contract, but are you guys really going to complain about picking up a guy that was 3rd in the league in OBP? The guy will put up a ridiculous amount of runs if he continues to get on base at that pace, especially with an offense like this and the power hitters this team has.

[Pharmcat]

johnson doesnt have fast speed either, it be nice to have that in a #2 so he can score from first on a tex or arod double

[VinnyTheMick]

johnson doesnt have fast speed either, it be nice to have that in a #2 so he can score from first on a tex or arod double

True, but he is a patient hitter so he will be seeing a lot of pitches which could lead to Tex or Arod getting meatball pitches. A .425 OBP in front of ARod and Tex is sick. Just sick.

I like the move & I'd like it even more if we resign Damon.

1. Jeter
2. Damon
3. Teixeira
4. A-Rod
5. Granderson
6. Posada
7. Cano
8. Swisher
9. Johnson

Sickness.

[Wade2k6]

Rather go after Sheets then Damon. He isn't going to get 12 million guaranteed like his agent seems to think, so wait until his agent comes to his senses and sign Sheets to a 5-7 million dollar contract with incentives stretching it to 10-11 million. Then call it an off-season.

[HCYanks]

hmm... River Avenue Blues posted some of Nick's batted ball tendencies, and there is some good news here:

........GB% FB% LD% HR/FB
2009 22.2 43.4 34.4 6.2%
Car 22.4 43.6 34.0 13.0%

Given the tendency for HR/FB rates to come back to the norm over time, it's very likely some of that pop will come back just by virtue of luck. NYS will simply add to that.

I mentioned this in another thread, but supposedly Matsui got some sort of agreement from the Angels that he will field part-time. Not completely surprising considering all the dumb crap the Angels do with their OF, but it still puts Godzilla in serious jeopardy. Even if he agreed to only DH for us, it might have been on a larger contract.

Bringing back Matsui isn't the slam dunk better choice that some of you are making it out to be.

[Lconte17]

Bringing back Matsui isn't the slam dunk better choice that some of you are making it out to be.

I think its more of a loyalty thing and appreciation thing with Matsui here. It was widely speculated that they didnt want a DH type player. but end up signing specifically that. If this signing was Mark DeRosa its one thing, but Johnson can play only 1b and thats that. So in signing just a DH player, its kind of a slap in the face to fans and Matsui (im sure) specially after giving out a Loyalty contract for 52m to Posoda (who is pretty much a DH now himself)

[HCYanks]

Posada can't do a full catching workload anymore, but he will still put plenty of time in at catcher, where his offense is valuable as hell. Fangraphs' dollar value rating had him priced as worth 18 million last year. It tends to overvalue players sometimes, but that still goes to show what a good offensive catcher can mean to a team. A line has to be drawn on the lifetime achievement contracts somewhere, or they're going to prevent the team from making moves in the future. Matsui was great and it's sad to see him go, but Johnson was a smart signing who's very likely to make up for most or all of his offense.

[jeff1624]

OT but since we're discussing Posada I might as well ask. Molina isn't expected to be back right?? I like Cervelli but Molina is one of the best defensive catchers in the league, I'd rather have him behind the plate once a week.

As for the Johnson signing, it makes zero sense. We didn't resign Matsui so we could sign a player that could give us flexibility on the field yet we sign a 1b?? Matsui could have handled LF for a game or 2 each week, he would have given us more flexibility AND better hitting for the same price on a 1 year deal. He was also one of the clutchest players on the team AND a fan favorite. Easily one of the worst non moves this past decade..

[Wade2k6]

I'm pretty sure it came out that the Yankees weren't thrilled with Matsui's knees. So if they have questions about his knee's then obviously he isn't going to be able to play in the field 1 or 2 times a week. It wasn't "easily" one of the worst non moves, and they made a pretty damn good signing instead of him for a player who is younger and cheaper.

[jeff1624]

I'm pretty sure it came out that the Yankees weren't thrilled with Matsui's knees. So if they have questions about his knee's then obviously he isn't going to be able to play in the field 1 or 2 times a week. It wasn't "easily" one of the worst non moves, and they made a pretty damn good signing instead of him for a player who is younger and cheaper.

Oh please, people act as if he's on the verge of being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he can handle 7-8 innings a week. And even if he can't play the outfield once a week will Johnson be able to?

[Wade2k6]

I'm pretty sure it came out that the Yankees weren't thrilled with Matsui's knees. So if they have questions about his knee's then obviously he isn't going to be able to play in the field 1 or 2 times a week. It wasn't "easily" one of the worst non moves, and they made a pretty damn good signing instead of him for a player who is younger and cheaper.

Oh please, people act as if he's on the verge of being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he can handle 7-8 innings a week. And even if he can't play the outfield once a week will Johnson be able to?

The guy has terrible knee's, playing in the OF once or twice a week would make him less effective being a DH, it really isn't that difficult to understand. There is a reason Girardi didn't play him a single inning in the field last year. If they felt he was able too without effecting him as a DH I'm sure they would have played him in the OF sometimes last year. You really think the Yankees didn't look into this situation (with his knees and playing in the field) a little more in depth then you did? I'll take the opinion of a trained medical staff that's doing it professionally for a major league baseball team.

[jeff1624]

You didn't answer my question, even if he isn't able to play LF an is strictly used as a DH, how does the Johnson signing give us more flexibility?

[Jitpal]

I think it came down to the fact that the Yankees felt they needed a number 2 hitter more than a number 5 hitter. I think they feel that if the worst happens they can put Posada at 5, Cano 6, Swisher 7 and Granderson/Melky rounding out the bottom of the order. However, there aren't too many people they can put at the two hole. Granted Johnson doesn't have the speed Damon had but he does have a higher OBP. I think another factor, as weird as it sounds, is that they can sit him whenever they want to give a guy like Posada or Arod a day at DH. Sitting Matsui was a process, not only because of what he brought to the team as a RBI guy but also because of the Japanese media that would consider it breaking news. I do feel as if the Yankees have at least one more big move left in them for this winter. I think once that shoe drops, this signing will make a lot more sense. -Jitpal

[Pharmcat]

i guess im getting the sense yanks thinks matsuis knees are bout to give way anytime and its a miracle he lasted and performed the way he did last year....they have his medical file, so we have to trust them on it....johnson as a dh, lookin again, its a solid move....he will make the pitchers throw their stuff allowing tex and arod to see what the pitcher has got that day

i dont think we have anymore moves this year, other than signing sheets to a base 5 mill with bout 6 mill in incentives

the pen can be taken care of internally

[Pharmcat]

of course mary lupica with his typical anti yankee garbage today in the daily news

[jeff1624]

I could buy the whole we needed a #2 hitter and what not, but don't give me the "Matsui is an injury risk" because he only signed for a year AND the guy replacing him isn't exactly the most durable player in the league. He's played 770 games in 9 seasons.